


A Birthday To Remember

by lovethecoat51, therealmccoy



Series: On Our Way to the Stars [2]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Academy Era, First Kiss, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-12
Updated: 2013-11-12
Packaged: 2018-01-01 06:10:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1041290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovethecoat51/pseuds/lovethecoat51, https://archiveofourown.org/users/therealmccoy/pseuds/therealmccoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Bones' 29th birthday, and Jim's going to make sure he never forgets it</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Birthday To Remember

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of an RP backstory, all set during Jim and Bones' years at Starfleet Academy. This one is set during the fall semester of their second year, just after they realize they kinda sorta have feelings for each other.

In the weeks to come, Bones and Jim fell into the boring day-to-day routine that most of their time at the Academy actually consisted of. Classes, more classes, tests, sims, training missions, even more classes. With the occasional lunch together when their schedules permitted it, or a few drinks when Jim managed to nag Bones into it. 

 

In short, their lives went back to what it was before all the headaches and awkwardness, and stress. Bones, for one, was eternally thankful to get to have a normal, dull life again. Even if he knew it couldn't possibly last. Not with Jim Kirk around.

 

Or the impending tombstone known as his birthday. As a general rule, Jim didn't do birthdays - they were just another day on the calendar to him. But this was Bones' 29th birthday, and Jim figured that his friend already had one foot in the grave, he might as well live the last year of his youth up. Starting tonight.

After confirming a few details for the evening, he stopped at Bones' room to pull him away from the PADD he was reading.

"C'mon, Bones, we're going out."

 

"What? Why? No. I'm busy." Bones protested and went back to his PADD. But it wasn't necessarily because he didn't care to celebrate his birthday. Bones simply didn't remember that it was his birthday.

 

"It's your birthday, you dumb bastard." Jim grabbed the PADD and tossed it on the desk. "Let's go already."

"You sure...?" Bones frowned as he tried to remember. "Oh, right. Well, alright, but just a couple of drinks. Nothing over the top." He warned Jim as he reluctantly got up and made to follow Jim.

"Of course!" Jim grinned, not even bothering to hide the lie. "Just hanging out at Jack's. That's it, I swear."

 

Bones glared at him. "If you sing, I'll strangle you in your sleep."

 

"I can promise you, there will not be singing. At least, not from me."

 

Bones shot him another warning glare, but followed without a word.

 

They made it to Jack's without incident, and for the first few rounds, it was a nice, relaxing evening. Nothing out of the ordinary. Then the clock hit 11:15, and a very unusually dressed woman walked into the bar. She was wearing an old fashioned nurse's uniform, only it wasn't plain white, it was red and white checked. And it was a bit...lacking in certain areas. Mostly the hemline. She scanned the bar until she found Jim and his unfortunate drinking buddy, then carefully bounced her way over to them.

 

"Dr. McCoy?" she asked, putting a should on Bones' shoulder.

 

Curious, Bones turned around and almost dropped his drink as he saw the 'nurse'. Immediately he shot a scowl in the direction of Jim, knowing he had something to with this, before nodding to the woman. "I'm-" He coughed once, to get the awkward tone out of his voice. "That would be me... "

 

"I've been told today is a very special day, doctor..." she said as huskily as she could manage while she draped her arms around his neck and leaned closer.

 

Bones flushed and blinked. Part of him hoping this was all a nightmare. "I... ehm.. Is it..?" He stammered.

 

"Mhmmm," she purred, slowly drawing one of her hands down his chest before just as slowly unbuttoning the top of her dress.

 

After seeing the look on Bones' face, Jim nearly fell off his seat, he was laughing so hard.

 

"Now hold your horses.. you're not really thinking of taking your clothes off here..?" Bones looked around the bar, feeling all eyes were on him. When in truth.. most people didn't care. Except for the few men who's eyes were on the stripper, that is.

 

"Well, that's the idea, sugar."

 

Bones didn't WHAT to do. On principle he felt stripping was degrading both for the woman involved and the guy drooling all over her. However, men will be men and it wasn't he had never tagged along to strip bars with friends. But having a personal stripper show up just randomly like this, was different. And embarrassing. But then.. there was a gorgeous woman standing between his legs and was about to take her clothes of. Just for him. And the combination of a decent number of drinks, the teenage boy still dwelling somewhere deep inside him and Bones telling himself that if he turns her down she might get insulted... made him blush vibrant red and lean back with a whimpered 'OK', before glancing over at Jim. With a look that was half a plea for help and half "I'll kill you for this, farmboy."

 

A similar thought was running through the head of the man who walked into the bar at that precise moment. He immediately spotted the person he was searching for. It wasn't all that difficult, given that she was the only one dressed as a candy striper and was hanging all over the unfortunate doctor. He marched over and yanked her off, spinning her around and yelling, "What kind of game are you playing, Hayley?!"

 

"Look, pal," Jim said as he stood up. "It was just a bit of fun."

 

The new arrival turned to glare at Jim. "YOU!!"

 

Jim instantly recognized the face. "Cupcake!"

 

"I SHOULD HAVE KNO- WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!?!" Almost before the words left his mouth, his fist connected with Jim's face.

 

"JIM!!" Bones turned to his friend and managed to look murderously angry and utterly humiliated at the same time. For a moment, it actually seemed like he was going to side with Captain Cupcake against Jim. Until Cupcake's fist connected with Jim's face, and Bones was off his barstool, taking Cupcake down in a flying tackle before he even got to finish a full follow-through on that punch. 

 

From there, hell broke loose. Hayley, the naughty candy striper jumped Bones in an attempt to claw him off of her boyfriend, while Cupcake's posse made sure Jim had his hands full. 

 

As bar fights tend to do, the whole thing rippled through the bar. One after another patrons either joined in or they fled the scene. And soon no one really remembered who or what had started it. Captain Cupcake and his gang, including Nurse Naughty, were long gone, but somehow.. there were still plenty of people wanting to beat the life out of Jim and Bones. Who knew how that had happened, but it had and didn't look about to end anytime soon. 

But sadly, Bones birthdays seemed to be cursed. No matter what plans he made or didn't make, it seemed everything that could go wrong, went wrong on that particular day. This year.. disaster would come in the form of the only man who wasn't involved in the fight. 

In a corner of the bar, a patron was sitting and despite the chaos around him, he was calmly sipping his drink and seemed not to even care to watch all of this. He reached over the counter for the bottle of Saurian brandy, and just as he did that.. Bones's punch, aimed at the bartender who never hesitated to join in the fight, missed it's target and smashed full force into the side of the man's face. 

 

The near-Vulcan calm was gone in an instant, and replaced by a look so cold, it actually made Bones stop and stumble back a step. 

 

"I'm s-sorry-AHH!!" Bones didn't even get to finish his apology before the man stabbed him in one swift, causal, careless movement. "DAMMIT!!" he growled and the searing pain made him sink to his knees in a second.

 

On the other side of the bar, all Jim saw was Bones suddenly dropping to the floor and a glinting blade. That was all he needed to see. In three seconds flat, he had crossed the crowded room and shoved Bones' attacker up and over the bar. Sitting squarely on the man's chest, Jim pummeled fist after fist into his face. It wasn't until he noticed the pinky ring the man wore that he stopped. 

 

Actually, when Jim noticed the ring, he didn't just stop, he froze. Then he panicked. Flying back over the bar, he grabbed Bones' arm to haul him upright.

 

"Oh shit. Oh shitshitshitshitshit. Bones, we gotta go. NOW!"

 

"Dammit, Jim! Kinda stabbed here." Bones grumbled as he let Jim pull him back up to a standing position. He wasn't hurt too bad. He could move and didn't really stand the risk of bleeding to death. Not yet. But the look he saw on Jim's face, stopped his blood flow anyway. "What?! What happened? Tell me you didn't kill him?" Bones blurted out all at once, and wasn't fighting the man leading him out of the bar.

 

"I like how you think I can kill a guy with my bare fists." Jim was still hoping that he was wrong about the ring. Life would be easier if he was wrong about the ring. Life would continue if he was wrong about the ring. If he was right about the ring... it was completely possible neither would see dawn.

 

"I've seen worse, believe it or not." 

 

Bones followed him out and look confused. "What the hell's going on, Jim? Who was that guy?"

 

Jim turned back around with the biggest, fakest grin he could muster. "Happy birthday! I think I just set the San Francisco underworld after us."

 

Bones's face fell. He opened his mouth to yell at Jim for getting them into trouble, but he was painfully aware that this time it was all his own fault. "Good God, Jim! What the hell do we do now?!"

 

"We RUN, Bones, what the hell do you think we do?!"

 

"Right." 

 

"There they are!!" 

 

Bones spun around and saw little less than a small armada of hoverbikes and similar crafts pulling up outside of Jack's. "Jim!!" He grabbed his friends shirt and pulled him with as he set off running, as fast as he could considering he was bleeding.

 

They quickly fell in step with each other, but after just a few blocks of blind running, it was obvious they were getting nowhere fast. The threatening mob of people behind them was steadily advancing, and if they didn't do something drastic soon, things wouldn't end well at all.

 

It was then that Jim made an executive decision. Without a word, he yanked Bones down the next alley they came across. That would buy them a little bit of time - those hoverbikes they were riding handled about as well as the ones the police used back in Iowa. So in other words, not well at all. Plus, the narrow width of the alley would make it harder for them to steer and avoid anything in their path. But that strategy alone wouldn't be enough to save their skins.

 

They needed something fast, something inconspicuous that would let them make a clean getaway. They couldn't exactly hail a taxi... but they could steal a taxi. Or any other kind of vehicle that would get them the hell out of trouble. And no sooner had Jim spotted a likely target than Bones stumbled and almost landed face first in a puddle.

 

Jim managed to grab him in time, mostly, and hauled him back up before heading for the abandoned taxi. After smashing in the window, Jim dumped his friend into the back seat and slid into the driver's seat, yanking down an electrical panel from beneath the steering wheel.

 

"Jim! You have no idea what you're doing!" Bones complained as he-despite his pain-climbed over Jim's shoulder and slumped down in the passenger seat. "Do you even know how to get this thing moving before we get killed? Or worse, arrested, again?"

 

"Yeah, actually, I know what I'm doing," Jim said flatly as he fiddled with a bit of the wiring, which led to the satisfying sound of an engine whirring to life. Putting the hovercar into gear, he added, "Buckle up, Bones" and floored the accelerator.

 

"You know how to hot wire a hovercar?" Bones almost looked half-impressed. For a split second before the car sped off and his expression changed to fear as he got thrown back in his seat. "JIM!!! DAMMIT! STOP THIS THING!!" 

 

Bones really wasn't a man built for speedy getaways in stolen crafts, and he was already starting to feel sick. It really didn't take more than knowing that they weren't touching solid ground in anyway to get his heart racing and fear taking over. "Jim! CAN YOU EVEN DRIVE?! Look where you're going!! Stop!"

 

"Relax, I've been driving since I was six. You're completely safe." Of course, Jim made a point of turning extra hard around the corner. He had to shake the still-gaining horde, right? 

 

"SAFE!?" Bones yelled after that hard turn slammed him into the side and his head hit the beam over the window with a loud 'clunk!'. Because of course he hadn't thought of buckling up. "Are you trying to kill me too?!"

 

Jim raced through the streets, dodging other crafts and the odd pedestrian, all the while keeping an eye on the rear scanner. His mind was buzzing with ideas and solutions, almost instantly settling on the best one. He took a quick glance around the interior of the craft. "Seriously. Chill. We'll make it out of this. Just be ready to steer when I tell you."

 

"Steer?! You have GOT to be joking! I'd steer, you know, if we hadn't LEFT MY WITS BEHIND IN THAT ALLEY!!"

 

That's when Jim's eyes landed on what he was looking for. "TAKE IT, BONES!" His hands left the guidance system and he lunged for the control panel that lay near Bones' feet.

 

Bones took the wheel and steered relatively well, considering he was drunk, dizzy, and panicked. "What THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!?!" He shouted and managed to keep on eye on the road and one on the Iowa farmboy who had just dived down between his legs.

 

"I gotta override some safety protocols," came the muffled response. It took only a few seconds for Jim to find the code he was looking for, and a few more commands later, a red, flashing "are you sure you wish to continue?" sign sprawled across the view screen. "Hit 'yes'!"

 

"What now?! Jim... Jim, what the hell are you up to?! Do I even want to know? Jim, I'D RATHER BLEED TO DEATH THAN GO UP IN A BALL OF FLAMES!" Bones was close to shrieking now, but he still followed Jim's orders without hesitation and hit 'yes'.

 

His mission accomplished, Jim popped back up from his hiding place, took the wheel again, and smiled broadly at Bones. "I told you, I got it covered. Calm down already, would you?"

 

"Calm down? Calm DOWN?! We're about to die and you're telling me to calm down?!! AND THEY'RE STILL BEHIND US! Why the hell do I let you talk me into these things? All I wanted was a quiet night to get on top of my goddamn analysis! You know how batshit crazy those damned Vulcan readings are?! It's like someone took a mixer and scrambled all their internal organs around! But NO! Instead, I'm going to die here, WITH YOU!"

 

"Don't be so dramatic, you're not gonna die." He pulled up a map up the city and started scanning through the different areas, trying to find an intersection. A very specific intersection. A t-intersection with a tiny alley at the head of it. He wasn't even sure such an intersection existed in San Francisco.

 

As it turned out, only three intersections existed like that. And one of them was only six blocks away. "Better hold on tight."

 

Bones was about to continue his ranting, but his head was spinning and he got distracted by trying to blink away the tiny white spots that seemed to be blurring his vision. ".. okay." He said weakly and tightened his hold on his seat.

 

Jim took three hard rights in a row and accelerated as fast as he could down the street. Flicking a switch or two, he set the craft's autopilot. "Bones, when I give the word, I need you to jump out your door."

 

"JUMP OUT THE-ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!?!?" But there was somehow no doubt that Bones would-as he always did-do exactly what Jim asked him to.

 

"Just trust me!!" Double checking his settings, Jim let go of the steering wheel and climbed into the back seat, waiting a few moments longer until they were just about ready to smack into the brick wall in front of them. "One.. two.. three... JUMP!!!"

 

"Trust you?! That's a hell of a lot easier said than done!!" Bones snarked but still didn't stop to blink as he opened the door and jumped out the speeding craft at the same time as Jim.

 

Just as they jumped, the hovercraft swerved 90 degrees to the left almost instantly, giving them a bit of added momentum. Hidden by the speeding craft, they scrambled into the shadows to get a bit more cover. The plan worked. Each one of the pursuers (and it looked like they had picked up a few more during the chase) followed the craft around the corner. There was one straggler who missed the turn, streaking down the alley towards where Jim and Bones were standing, pressed up against the wall. 

 

For a split second, Jim thought they were done for, that they would be found. Then the hoverbike raced passed them and clipped the top of a dumpster, sending the rider twirling through the air and crashing into the wall with a sickening SPLAT! as the bike slowed to a stand still and parked itself.

 

Moments after that, there was another, much larger accident three blocks away. Their unmanned, hijacked taxi cab connected with another brick wall, erupting into flames. The sound of sirens and shouting soon followed.

 

Jim jumped straight up into the air, letting out a yell. "WE DID IT!!"

 

"Jim!! I outta- Goddamn irresponsible-We could have-DAMMIT JIM!" Bones scrambled to his feet. A bit bruised and scraped, but no worse off than he was before he jumped out. "Remind me to never go near a starship that's in your command..." He spat but it came with a chuckle of relief. Because they weren't dead. Always a good thing.

 

Jim could only grin at his friend. Caught up in a rush of adrenaline and giddiness, he didn't even think to stop himself as he gripped the side of Bones' neck and kissed him. No tongue, no teeth, no trademarked Kirk Aggression, just a simple "Yay! We Didn't Die!" victory kiss.

 

Bones was taken completely off-guard by that kiss. He gripped Jim by the collar of his jacket and pulled him just that much closer, before his respond did a full 180 and he shoved Jim away with enough force to slam him against the wall of the narrow alley. He wiped his lips on his sleeve and gave Jim an angry, disgusted glare that just screamed "NO!".

 

Of all the painfully humiliating experiences Jim had been through in his entire life, this ranked as the undisputed #1 Worst Moment. That look made him feel like he was six years old again, getting his first black eye because he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He'd screwed up. Big time. Misread every single conversation he'd had with his best friend in the past few months, been stupid enough to think he might be something to someone, and now, with one idiotic misstep, he'd lost it all.

 

"Jim.. " Bones took a breath as the adrenaline left his body and his vision blurred. The pain came back and reminded him that he was actually wounded. "I think I..." He trailed off as the bloodloss finally caught up with him and he just crumpled to the ground like a house of cards.

 

"BONES!!" Instantly forgetting the idiotic misstep, Jim was kneeling next to Bones almost before he hit the ground. Panic was quickly setting in as he shook the limp body. "Bones, wake up! Come on, man, this isn't funny. DAMMIT, BONES!!"

 

He slapped him. Actually pulled his arm back and walloped Bones across the face. For some strange reason, Jim thought this would work. It didn't. Then he looked down and saw the blood-soaked jeans. Jim paled a little. "Oh shit. ShitshitshitshitshitSHIT."

 

This was bad. Very very bad. Worse than "kissing your best friend and it turns out he's not as open to that idea as you thought he was" bad. Worse than "getting a stripper for your best friend's birthday and it turns out her insanely jealous boyfriend has a personal vendetta against you" bad. Possibly even worse than "beating the shit out of some mafioso and being forced to streak around the city by the bay in a stolen vehicle while all his cronies chase you and your best friend" bad. This was "your best friend might die on his birthday and it's ALL YOUR GODDAMN FAULT, JIM KIRK" bad. And that was about as bad as it got.

 

Okay, he needed to stop. Take a breath. Contemplating precisely how bad this situation was, wasn't going to help Bones. What Bones needed right now was to stop the bleeding. Right. Not so easy in a back alley. He couldn't call an ambulance or take him to a hospital - too many questions. Jim wasn't sure how well he could think on his feet right now, and if there was any kind of questioning, it would lead back to the bar brawl at Jack's. They could be permanently expelled for their behavior tonight. That wasn't quite as bad as the "your best friend might die" thing, but it was probably worse than the stripper deal.

 

No. No hospitals. But Bones was a doctor, everything Jim needed would be in his room. Well, everything but the know-how, but Jim had more than the average person's knowledge of personal first aid. He'd be able to fake it until he at least got Bones conscious again, there was no doubt in his mind. So that was that. He had to get Bones to his room.

 

Now, to get Bones there. The Academy was....well, it was a bit of a hike from where they were. And with all of San Francisco's famous hills in the way, Jim didn't have enough time to hoof it. Bones didn't have enough time for Jim to hoof it. But there was a shiny hoverbike at the end of the alley that was currently driver-less. That would work.

 

He grabbed Bones by both arms and pulled them over his shoulders, dragging the heavier-than-he-expected body over to the bike. This was going to be a challenge. But Jim Kirk never backed down from a challenge. Especially one THIS important. He tried getting on the bike and then hauling Bones on behind him, but that strategy failed. Miserably. He then awkwardly placed Bones on the bike and sneaked into the seat. That would have to do for now.

 

He hotwired the bike single-handedly and off they took. Jim couldn't move as fast as he liked, given that every time he sped up, Bones started to slip off a little. Which was thoroughly unacceptable. He gripped Bones' arms tighter and plowed on through the night at an agonizingly slow 70 mph.

 

It took almost 10 minutes, but Jim finally touched down on the Academy grounds. Stashing the bike in the rhododendron bushes, he half-carried, half-towed Bones up to his room. He got plenty of looks, but it wasn't the first time Bones and Jim had been out drinking and stumbled back in a similar position. Thankfully, the blood went unnoticed. Possibly because of it's sheer volume. 

 

Once safe inside Bones' room, Jim dumped his friend on the bed and grabbed the medical kit that was always stashed right under it. A variety of overly complicated devices stared back at him. "FUCK!"

 

Okay, no need to panic AGAIN, Jim, this wouldn't be so bad. First things first. Get Bones' pants off. Right, bad phrasing. Clear the wound of fabric. A nice pair of shiny scissors would help. There. Bones' jeans were partially Daisy Dukes. Oh, he was so dead when Bones woke up. 

 

Clean the wound. Well, nothing here looked like the rubbing alcohol he was used to using at home in Iowa, but you could never go wrong with hot water and a towel. Check and check. After the dried blood was washed away, Jim realized just how serious this wound was. It was a little beyond what he was really capable of healing on his own. Time to wake the doctor.

 

He searched through the kit again, pulling out the hypospray. He double-checked - no, triple-checked the contents, making sure he selected the right solution, and jabbed it into Bones' neck, stabbing MUCH harder than he really needed to. He could blame the adrenaline, if Bones yelled at him.

 

As expected, the hypo jump started his body and Bones gasped awake, flying up to a sitting position and his first thought, the first word out of his mouth was "JIM!!" 

 

Disoriented, he looked around till his mind was clear enough for him to actually recognize the man next to his bed. Worried and scared, with a heart that's forced to race once again, he grabbed his arms and just looked at him. "Jim!" he exclaimed again and what ever he was planning to say got forgotten as he noticed that his medical supplies are scattered all over the place. "Who the hell gave you permission to mess with my thing! Those are not toys, dammit!!" He snapped like a father berating his child, except that he would never yell at Joanna like that if she had touched his medical kit.

 

Despite the intense relief he was feeling, Jim only let a cocky little half-smirk show on his face. They weren't out of the woods quite yet. "No, they're not, so do you mind telling me what the hell I'm supposed to be doing here?"

 

"I need my tricorder!" Bones said as he looked for it and scrambled to get out of the bed.

 

"LAY BACK DOWN, YOU DUMBASS!" Jim yelled and shoved Bones back down before grabbing the device from off the desk.

 

Bones glared at him and snatched the tricorder out of Jim's hands almost possessively. "Jim! I'm the doctor, not the patient, dammit! Stay outta my way!" And with that he tried to stand again. And failed.

 

This time, Jim was ready and caught him. "Actually, I think you're both right now, so just tell me what to do already!"

 

"What? You're playing nurse now?" Bones mocked him, mostly to cover up the embarrassment he felt over not even being able to stand of his own accord. He glared around the room as if they had an audience, and then reluctantly started snapping orders at Jim, making sure to point out every little mistake.

 

Jim took the mockery and snapping and overall abuse without even blinking. It was just Bones being Bones. There were more important things to focus on at the moment. Besides, it was his fault Bones ended up like this in the first place.

 

But everyone has a breaking point. Jim's came when he was in the middle of actually stopping the bleeding with one of the dozen tools Bones had told him to get out. "Bones! I can handle this without your nonstop bitching, so unless you have something important to say, SHUT UP!"

 

Bones blinked and then blinked again, and against all odds, instead of yelling louder... the doctor suddenly turned fully compliant. That is as far as you can call glaring and grumbling "fine.. ", before continuing to grumbling curses and elaborate, colorful profanities under his breath.. compliant.

 

Without any further interruptions, Jim was able to absolutely focus on the task at hand. The job wasn't exactly of professional quality, but it was leaps and bounds better than anything someone could do on their first attempt, which probably spoke volumes.

 

Bones looked at Jim work. To begin with it was the doctor watching and mentally pointing out all the flaws, internally cursing that he would have a scar if Jim didn't do better, but after a while.. his focused shifted. He wasn't following the patch job anymore. He was watching Jim. 

 

Suddenly he was almost enthralled by him. He looked worried, and tired, and Bones had never seen him this concentrated about anything. But there was something else that caught his attention. Jim looked sad somehow. Not that it was necessarily evident in his face, but there was just something missing. Something probably only Bones would notice was gone. Jim was always glowing somehow. That was one of the first things Bones had ever noticed about him. Jim Kirk seemed to always have his own personal spotlight on him. But now.. now he looked like.. he was standing in a shadow.

 

Maybe it was unusually presumptuous of him to think it, but Bones couldn't help but think back at how he had brutally shoved Jim off in that alley. He felt guilt stab him deeper than that blade could have done. It wasn't that the kiss wasn't welcome. Sure, then and there, the whole thing had just repulsed him, but in retrospect.. that had just been an instinctual reaction. It wasn't like having men suddenly kiss him was even remotely close to normal for him. It was something entirely new for him and to be just thrown into it like that had scared him. Thinking back now, he found every bit of him regretted pushing Jim off. The last thing he wanted was Jim to think of that as a rejection. If he had only gotten some sort of warning, had time to mentally prepare for it... 

 

He faltered, went back and forth on the matter about a hundred times, then finally, just as Jim finished dressing the wound, he sat up. " Erhm... Jim..?" He started with a voice that wasn't fully his own, and had a whole speech planned as an apology.

 

Jim carefully put the tool back before he responded, rocking back to sit on his heels. "What'd I screw up this time?"

 

It took one look at him before Bones changed tactics and instead of a long explanation of why he had pushed him off, he gently cupped his chin and moved close enough to brush his lips over Jim's once. Before tentatively closing the distance fully to give him a warm, careful actual kiss.

 

If he were truly honest, Jim had kissed and been kissed hundreds, possibly thousands of times. Everything ranging from awkward to intense, desperate to calculating.

Never once had he been kissed like that.


End file.
